“The Living Years”

 

Thirty some years ago, one of the most profoundly sad songs in pop music history hit number one on the Hot 100 chart. The song was co-written by Scottish musician, B. A. Robertson (lyrics) and English guitarist, Michael Rutherford (music). Both men had recently lost their fathers.

The song was recorded and performed by the English rock supergroup Mike and the Mechanics, formed in the southeastern coastal town of Dover in 1985, as a side project of Mike Rutherford, the bassist/guitarist and one of the founding members of the band Genesis.

Rolling Stone journalist Andy Greene suggested, in a March 14, 2019, article, the song “forced everyone within earshot of a radio throughout much of 1989 to consider the fact that his or her parents will inevitably die and leave him or her with profound regret.”

The complex emotions surrounding lyricist Robertson’s strained relationship with his father and the birth of his son three months after his father’s death lead to “The Living Years,” first released in 1988. Guitarist Rutherford’s own father had passed away the previous year.

English drummer/ singer and songwriter, Paul Carrack, who sang lead on the recording, had himself lost his father when he was only eleven years old.

The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) dubbed Carrack “The Man with the Golden Voice,” and fellow musician Phil Collins– best known as the drummer/ singer of the rock band Genesis–described Carrack as an “incredible voice” who “could sing the telephone directory.”

Carrack, who continues to this day to feature the song in his solo performances, served as the band’s sole lead vocalist until his departure in 2004.

“The Living Years” was a worldwide number one hit, reaching that mark on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the week ending March 25, 1989. The song went on to win the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically & Lyrically in 1989, and was nominated for four Grammy awards in 1990, including Record and Song of the Year, as well as Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Best Video.

I debated whether to interject statistics about fathers and the number of children in our present day who are raised without one, not to mention the cultural changes in our misguided perceptions of parents; but I opted to just let the lyrics communicate the message:

“The Living Years”

“Every generation blames the one before

And all of their frustrations come beating on your door

I know that I’m a prisoner to all my Father held so dear

I know that I’m a hostage to all his hopes and fears

I just wish I could have told him in the living years

Oh, crumpled bits of paper filled with imperfect thought

Stilted conversations, I’m afraid that’s all we’ve got

You say you just don’t see it, He says it’s perfect sense

You just can’t get agreement in this present tense

We all talk a different language, talking in defense

Say it loud (say it loud), say it clear (oh say it clear)

You can listen as well as you hear

It’s too late (it’s too late) when we die (oh when we die)

To admit we don’t see eye to eye

So we open up a quarrel between the present and the past

We only sacrifice the future, it’s the bitterness that lasts

So don’t yield to the fortunes you sometimes see as fate

It may have a new perspective on a different day

When my Father passed away I didn’t get to tell him all the things I had to say

I think I caught his spirit later that same year

I’m sure I heard his echo in my baby’s newborn tears

I just wish I could have told him in the living years

Say it loud, say it clear (oh say it clear)

You can listen as well as you hear

It’s too late (it’s too late) when we die (it’s too late when we die)

To admit we don’t see eye to eye

So say it, say it, say it loud (say it loud)

Say it clear (come on say it clear)

…I just wish I could have told him in the living years.”

Do yourself a favor, this Father’s Day take some time to listen, here’s the link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGDA0Hecw1k

The Living Years lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Concord Music Publishing LLC.

Former Cook County Commissioner Garry Gamble is writing this ongoing column about the various ways government works, as well as other topics. At times the column is editorial in nature.